Category: Britain

Home Office scheme to deport non-UK rough sleepers relaunched

A contentious program that employs councils and homelessness charities to glean personal data has been quietly reinstituted by the Home Office, potentially causing the deportation of non-UK rough sleepers. Since the relaunch six months ago, two charities and six councils have enrolled in the scheme, as reported by Liberty Investigates, a journalism group of the human rights organisation Liberty.

Alex Salmond launches Alba Party in bid to re-enter frontline politics

This afternoon (26 March 2021), Former First Minister, Alex Salmond announced he was launching a new pro-Independence Party ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 6 weeks time. “The Alba Party” is expected to run in each of Scotland’s 8 regions and as part of the launch, Salmond announced the Party was aiming to ensure “the Independence Supermajority’, calling on SNP voters to vote tactically to ensure a majority of pro-Independence MSPs are returned to Holyrood.

Communists warn of growing threat to freedoms

“Despite his reputation as a ‘Tory libertarian’, Boris Johnson’s government is now attacking democratic freedoms on a scale that cannot be justified by the Covid emergency”, Alex Gordon told a meeting of the Communist Party’s Political Committee on Wednesday evening (24 March 2021). 

Police escalate Bristol #KillTheBill demonstrations

The city of Bristol erupted into violence last night as protestors were met with hostility by the local police force, as they aimed to demonstrate against Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel and her deeply unpopular Police Bill.

Communist Party attacks Electoral Commission name ban

The Communist Party has attacked a last-minute decision by the Electoral Commission to ban its descriptions as the “Communist Party”, the “Welsh Communist Party” and the “Scottish Communist Party” on ballot papers for the May 6 elections. All three names have long been registered with the Electoral Commission which has now decided to ban them with immediate effect.

Vulnerable families facing further devastation

Current research has revealed an increase in the use of food banks in more than nine out of 10 district councils and a rise in family disputes necessitating mediation in two-thirds of the district councils across England, exposing the additional burdens families have endured since the start of the pandemic.

Across Wales #VoteCommunist

Communists across Wales are gearing up for their biggest election challenge in years, with a contest in all five regional seats. Four party candidates in each of these lists, 20 in total, are drawn from localities where many of them are well-known as trade union and community activists. Seven are women, with a BAME comrade and 30% are Welsh speakers. A special Wales website has been built, which makes it easy for voters to get involved in the campaign. A Party leaflet will be sent to homes across the country, to complement TV broadcasts and street stalls.

Holyrood pantomime distracts from real issues

Politics in Scotland this week has been entirely dominated by the ongoing enquiry into what is being dubbed as Salmond vs Sturgeon in a he-said-she said battle of the heavyweights. On Thursday (19 March 2021) it was announced that the Committee investigating the Salmond Inquiry was due to vote, by five to four, in favour of finding that Sturgeon misled Parliament. Calls for Sturgeon’s resignation have been growing louder from all corners, although this still seems unlikely. Sturgeon will be expected to resign, but only if the Committee finds that Sturgeon ‘knowingly’ misled the parliamentary committee.